Phillip Snyder

Criminal Justice / Public Safety

ERADICATE privatized prisons and prison sentences for drug offenses—because no one should profit monetarily off of the imprisonment of another. We recommend utilizing community service and potential treatment, rather than jail time, to make our communities safer. Learn more

EQUIP law enforcement officers with proper training, expectations, and compensation. The end of police brutality starts with proper training and clear standards. This includes required diversity training, mandatory annual psychological evaluation, required use of body cameras, removal of potentially lethal restraint strategies, and more. Learn more

Protect communities by keeping those who are genuinely dangerous away from the rest of society. Learn more

First responders, social workers, and public school teachers are arguably the three most important roles in our society. Despite that, they each suffer from high turnover caused by a lack of support, largely financial support. If we want reform in these areas, we need to support our current professionals and provide them the training and resources they need to be effective. Learn more

Reform inmates when possible, returning them back to communities equipped to contribute. Learn more

Education

Research indicates that African-American male students are much more likely to engage with and graduate school if they have African-American male teachers. This is why I’d propose a sign-on bonus for minority teachers, as well as financial incentives for teachers to teach at low-income schools where they are needed most. Learn more

The first step to improving our schools is to keep good teachers in the classroom long enough to make a difference by increasing teacher’s starting salaries to $50,000. A lot needs to happen to reform our education system, such as: greatly reducing class sizes, seriously reviewing how we implement standardized tests, implementing personal finance courses, and much more. Learn more

Environment / Energy

I will bring to the Senate a bill which would help cities and municipalities subsidize the cost of installing community Solar Farms in low income neighborhoods in order to both move our state into lower emissions and to help local economies grow by easing the burden of a power bill for many low income Floridians. I would also support subsidizing the cost of solar panels, electric vehicles, and home battery backup systems. Learn more

Guns

I would support legislation which would implement universal background checks, close the loopholes that exist in current gun sales, and stop the sale of high capacity magazines. Learn more

Wages / Job Benefits

I will support legislation that gradually increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour as well as a progressive state income tax which could help close the income divide (and that tax will fund our teachers’ minimum wage increase). Learn more

ENSURE income equality, because low-income communities shouldn’t be relying on Section 8 housing, which disproportionately affects minority communities. Minimum wage should be raised to $15 an hour, keeping with inflation, and builders should be incentivised to build “tiny homes,” providing a clear path to home ownership. Learn more